1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of preventing poison oak, poison ivy and poison sumac dermatitis. More specifically, the invention relates the use of aluminum chlorhydrate as a prophylatic to prevent the diseases described above by application to the skin and fomites.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Poison oak, ivy or sumac dermatitis is caused by contact of the skin with the sap of these plants. An oil present in the sap, called urushiol oil, contains the irritating compounds. These chemicals are various 3-alkenylcatechols and 3-alkylcatechols. Their chemical structures have been known for some time and are relatively simple. The catechol and aliphatic portions of the structures are necessary for their activity. The chemicals are generically described by the following formula: ##STR1## wherein R is an alkyl or alkenyl group of 15 to 17 carbon atoms. The exact composition of the urushiol depends on the plant source and the part of the plant from which the urushiol comes.
Poison oak or poison ivy grows in almost every state, usually at elevations below 4,000 feet. The leaves vary in morphology with urushiol being present in the leaves, stem and roots.
The sap is not normally found on the undamaged leaf; the plant must be damaged for the sap to contact the skin. Uninjured leaves are not harmful. Although this is an academic point under most conditions of exposure, it does emphasize the fact that when the plants are being cut, the most toxic part is the cut end of the stem, and the crushed leaves. Potency of the plant may vary at different times of the year, but it is not enough to make a difference in the reaction of sensitive individuals. The urushiol oil is heavy and is not vaporous or gaseous. However, when the plant is burned, the heavy oil coats the soot, and this airborne material is dangerous to people downwind from the fire. This exposure can often produce severe dermatitis.
A common way of acquiring the dermatitis, apart from contact with the plant, is through fomites, i.e., objects that can carry the oil. Clothes, tools, equipment, animals and the like are fomites. The oil present on the fomites may remain active for months or even years and slowly becomes inactive by oxidation or polymerization.
The oil is not immediately irritating. In sensitive persons, their immune system recognizes the oil as foreign and mounts an inflammatory response. Six to twenty-four hours after contact itching is manifested as the first symptom. This is followed by redness and swelling up to forty eight hours after contact. Eventually, microblisters coalesce forming weepy, itching lesions that can be incapacitating. The intensity of the reaction depends on individual sensitivity and the concentration of the oil at each site on the skin. About fifty percent of the population of the United States is sensitive to urushiol.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,342 to Rathbun describes a method for the removal from the skin of the active phenolic compounds of an individual exposed to the oil of poison ivy and oak. The method utilizes hydrophilic anion exchange material applied topically to the affected skin area in a suitable carrier. After a sufficient contact time, the anion exchange material is removed and discarded. The treated area is rinsed with water and dried.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,301 to Windheuser describes a process for treating the skin and relieving the symptoms caused by poison oak or ivy by the topical application of certain tetraalkyl diamines.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,331 to Crary describes a process for treating the skin and relieving the symptoms caused by poison oak or ivy by the topical application of 2-butanone.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,772 to Cardarelli, et al. describes a composition which prevents skin irritation caused by contact with poison ivy or oak. The composition is based upon a film-forming acrylic polymer and includes a linking agent, so that upon application in a solvent carrier to the skin a selective membrane is formed.
While the art has provided various methods and compositions for preventing and relieving the dermatitis caused by exposure to the oil of poison ivy or oak, the need still exists for a method of preventing the skin irritation or dermatitis caused by the oil of a plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus from direct or indirect contact. For example, present methods are generally directed to the relieving symptoms of dermatitis caused by a plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus, rather than preventing the dermatitis or skin irritation caused by a plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a method of preventing the dermatitis or skin irritation caused by the oil of a plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus.
Another object of the present invention herein is to provide a new method of preventing the dermatitis or skin irritation caused by the oil of plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus by the topical application of an efficacious composition to the skin.
A further object of this invention is to provide a new method of preventing the dermatitis or skin irritation caused by the oil of a plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus by the application of an efficacious composition to fomites.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a method of preventing the spread of symptoms of the dermatitis or skin irritation caused by exposure to the oil of a plant of the genera Toxicodendron or Rhus.
The achievement of these and other objects will be apparent from the following description of the subject invention.